Entrepreneurial Award 2018

The Entrepreneurial Award recognises UK alumni who are active in initiating or contributing to innovative or creative new ideas, solutions or business opportunities.

Regional award winners 2018

Gordana Vrencoska

Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London

Gordana is an Associate Professor for the Faculty of Art & Design at the European University, the Republic of Macedonia, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Chief of the Graphic Design Department. She was born in Yugoslavia, and witnessed its traumatic break up. In 2003 she was awarded a Chevening Scholarship for her MA in Design Studies. For Gordana, studying in the UK enabled her to access world-class events and professionals. She found her course engaging, interactive and team-oriented.

Jose Ignacio Valenzuela

City, University of London

Jose is a pioneer of Health Informatics in Colombia and Latin America: he was the first person in Colombia formally trained in this field. His work led to the first health eLearning programme in the country and the creation of ‘Doctor Chat,’ the first medical orientation service in Latin America.

In the UK, Jose was able to combine his passion for IT with his profession in medicine. London’s diverse cultural environment helped him formulate new ideas and perspectives and think on a global level.

Lu Gang

University of Sheffield

Lu Gang is the founder and CEO of TechNode, a bilingual international technology news platform in China, covering the latest developments and start-up stories in China. It reaches millions of readers every month and is a trusted resource for the technology industry. In 2013, TechNode became the official partner of TechCrunch, a leading technology media source.

Studying in the UK provided Mr Lu with a strong business sense and made him realise the need for a global platform to share innovation.

Manar Al Hinai

University of Leeds

Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati marketing and branding consultant, luxury expert and entrepreneur focused on helping international and local clients best reach their target audience in the Arabian Gulf Region.

The diverse environment of she encountered through her UK education and volunteer opportunities helped her harness her passions. This extended to her professional life where she always tries to bring a social responsibility and community angle to every project she does.

Muhammad Uzair

Northumbria University

Muhammad Uzair is the founder of Blimp, a full-service digital marketing and PR agency based in Peshawar. Mohammad founded Blimp after gaining experience with a digital marketing agency in Leeds. Blimp’s work in the education sector has recently been shortlisted by Google as one of 24 most inspirational stories around the world. Uzair is a Mass Communications and Business graduate, and is also the co-founder of Basecamp and Peshawar 2.0, which support young entrepreneurs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Rita Robert Otu

University of Manchester

Rita is a farm manager with a vision to end hunger in Nigeria. She has raised over $3000 for women entrepreneurship programs, improving the lives of over 3000 women and girls in Nigeria through agricultural innovation. This includes agribusiness outreach, field training, farm business development and entrepreneurial workshops.

Her experience of the UK education system was eye-opening, and helped her develop a global perspective through contact with different cultures.

Vincent Zimmer

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Following an MSc in Public Policy and Administration, Vincent founded Kiron, a social enterprise allowing refugees to access higher education through online classes provided by world-class universities.

Vincent feels his time in in the UK had a unique influence on his professional life and personal development. It took him out of his comfort zone, calling for well-structured arguments to back up his theories, and the exposure to people of different backgrounds and cultures stuck with him.